How to Make a Discord Bot, In 5 Steps

Key Points

• Discord bots can improve server moderation by enforcing rules, banning users, and deleting spam, as well as enhance user engagement by welcoming new members, providing trivia, and generating leaderboards.
• To create a Discord bot, you need to download and install Discord, create a Discord account, go to the Discord Developer Portal, and follow the steps to create and name your bot.
• You can customize your bot’s icon, username, and permissions, and then invite the bot to your server by copying the auto-generated URL.
• Popular pre-created Discord bots include MEE6 for moderation tasks, Arcane for rewards and leaderboards, Dank Memer for memes and games, and Chip Bot for music playback from various platforms.
• Creating a completely custom Discord bot requires programming knowledge in Python, Java, or JavaScript, or collaborating with a developer.

Discord is a versatile online tool for creating public and private messaging communities. Adding Discord bots to your server can help elevate the quality of your server. They can carry out various tasks, enhance the chat experience, and make managing your server a bit easier. If you’ve been wondering how you can make your own Discord bot, then this is for you. In this article, you’ll learn what bots do, how you can make a Discord bot, and we’ll show you some pre-created bots you can customize for your own server.

What Can Discord Bots Do?

Before you learn how to make a Discord bot, let’s cover a few things that Discord bots can do. In general, Discord bots are used to improve the chat experience on your server. When you’re a single person managing a Discord server, there’s a lot you need to do, so a bot can help to ease some of this burden.

Discord bots can help improve server moderation by enforcing server rules, banning users, deleting spam, and more. Bots can also improve user engagement by welcoming new members, providing trivia, posting polls, assigning roles, and generating leaderboards. Some bots even integrate with other services like Twitch and YouTube, provide alerts about live streams, real-time updates, and more. Bots can also play music or other media directly in the chat.

Step 1. Download Discord and Create an Account

The first thing you need to do is download and install Discord. We’ll show you how to do it on Desktop (Mac), but the steps will be similar whether you’re using Windows, the web, or the mobile app. Simply visit the Discord website and click “Download for Mac”. Then, all you need to do is install the app, just like you would any other piece of software.

Then, you need to create a Discord account. The steps will be similar regardless of whichever way you downloaded the app. Back on the Discord website, you need to click the “Login” button in the right-hand corner of the page.

On the next screen, you need to click the link that says, “Register”. Then, you’ll be prompted to enter your username, password, email, and date of birth. Next, you’ll need to verify your email address in order to be officially recognized as a Discord user.

Step 2. Create and Name Your Bot

Now that you’ve downloaded Discord and created a Discord account, you can start creating a Discord bot. First, you need to go to the Discord Developer Portal and click the “New Application” button.

After that, give your bot a name and click the “Create” button in the pop-up.

Step 3. Add a Discord Bot

On the next screen, click the “Bot” menu option. On this tab, you can add an icon for your bot and customize the bot’s user name.

In the “Authorization Flow” section, there are a few settings you’ll want to be aware of. Turning the “Public Bot” toggle on will allow anyone to add the bot to their server. If you want to be the only one in control, then leave the toggle unchecked. You’ll also want to leave the “Requires OAuth2 Code Grant” option unchecked, unless you’re developing the bot and it requires that feature.

After that, scroll back up to the top and copy your bot’s token. If it’s not showing up, then click the “Reset Token” button and then copy the token once it’s generated.

Step 4. Create the Scope of Actions

Next, click on the menu item labeled “OAuth2” and click the “URL Generator” menu option. Then, in the “Scopes” box, click the “bot” checkbox.

Next, scroll down to the section labeled “Bot Permissions”. Here you can choose the actions that you want your bot to be allowed to perform. Simply check the box for each of the actions you’d like.

Step 5. Invite the Bot to Your Server

Once you’ve done that, all you need to do is copy the Auto-generated URL at the bottom of the screen. This URL will auto-generate as you change the parameters.

Then, paste the URL into a new browser window and you’ll be able to add your bot to a server. Select the server from the “Add to Server” list and then click the “Continue” button.

Next, you’ll be able to change the permissions for the bot by unchecking any boxes. Then, click the “Authorize” button at the bottom to add it to your server. Now, you’ve successfully created a bot and added it to your server.

Using Pre-Created Bots

Even without any programming knowledge, you can still create a custom Discord bot to manage your server and interact with users in the group. Below you’ll find 3 of the most popular Discord bots you can customize within the app and then deploy on your server or use as inspiration to create your own bot.

MEE6

MEE6 is one of the most widely used Discord bots and is great for moderation tasks. It has a lot of features right out of the gate, like scanning your chat for violations, muting or banning users, delivering custom welcome messages, sending alerts, and more. Plus, it’s fully customizable and you can make it match your server’s branding.

Arcane

Arcane is a Discord bot that makes it easy to offer members rewards, create leaderboards, automatically level voice activity, and even send notifications when you post a new YouTube video. It also includes a lot of moderation functions that’ll help prevent spam, mute, warn, and even ban users who go against server rules.

Dank Memer

Dank Memer is a bot built for memes. This particular bot lets you add memes into conversations. It also lets you play games, and it’s equipped with its own currency system. Users can earn coins by stealing from other users, gambling, and more. Overall, it’s a very unique bot that can make your server a lot more fun.

Chip Bot

Chip Bot is a popular music bot for Discord. It lets your members play songs from YouTube, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Twitch, and more. It also includes a lot of audio controls, so users can shuffle, skip, loop songs, and more. If your Discord server is all about music, then this bot is worth using.

Creating a Custom Discord Bot

As you learned above, it’s quite easy to create and deploy your own Discord bot. Plus, there are all kinds of pre-created bots you can customize and add to your server. But, if you want a completely custom bot, then you’ll need to know how to program using Python, Java, or JavaScript. Alternatively, you need to work with a developer to help you create a custom bot that matches your goals.

Closing Thoughts: How to Make a Discord Bot

As you’ve seen, Discord bots do a lot. From improving server moderation to improving user engagement. In addition, creating your own bot is a simple process.

1. Download Discord and create and account
2. Create and name a new bot
3. Set your scope of actions that you want the bot to manage
4. Add the bot to your server

You can also rely on pre-created bots that let you add a custom bot to your server in a few clicks. You can fully customize some of these bots to match your brand as well. However, if you want to dive deeper into creating a completely custom bot, consider learning how to program, or collaborate with a developer to get your bot built.

Summary Table

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Diego Thomazini/Shutterstock.com.